Thursday, October 29, 2020

The Best Definition of Rock-and-Roll Ever Is...

...IMHO, "happy songs about sad stuff."

I have no idea exactly who came up with that (or when) and, sure, obviously, there are probably lots of others I'm forgetting that are arguably as good.

That said, it sprang to mind this week after I discovered Vampire Weekend's sublimely upbeat and simultaneously melancholy 2019 song "This Life." (Here's a great in-concert version of it, if you missed the official video I posted on Tuesday).

Anyway, I was somewhat non-plussed to disover that I couldn't immediately come up with another example that embodied the definition as aptly, at least by my lights.

In which case, I will award a coveted PowerPop No-Prize© to the first reader who nominates one I agree with.

8 comments:

Blue Ash Fan said...

Maybe a bit of a stretch, but The Kinks' Better Things?

steve simels said...

That works for me.

As does The Tremeloes Here Comes My Baby.

Cleveland Jeff said...

It The End Of The World by REM, and It's My party by Leslie Gore

Phil Cheese said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Phil Cheese said...

Song writing duo of Glenn Tilbrook & Chris Difford from Squeeze practically specialize at writing happy songs about sad stuff.

Anonymous said...

My definition of rock and roll comes from these lines from Richard Thompson's "Night Comes In":

Dancing till my feet don't reach the ground

i'll loses my mind and dance forever
I'll loses my mind and dance forever
Turn my world around
Turn my world around

What do you think?

Captain Al

MarginAlt said...

it's got two big horns
and a wooly jaw....

SteveS said...

I gotta go with "Marie Provost" here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_-Gxl1iSL4